102 



THE HEALING OF WOUNDS 



WHEN TO CUT THE BRANCHES. At what season 

 of the year shall wounds be made, so far as 

 the healing process is concerned ? There are 

 as many opinions as there are months in the 

 year. This is the best of evidence that there 

 is no one season in which wounds always heal 

 better than in all other seasons. It is indication 

 that the time of the year at which the wound is 

 made is less important than some other factor 

 or factors. 



We have seen that the healing of serious 

 wounds is a process which depends primarily 

 on the cambium. Healing cannot begin, there- 

 fore, when the cambium is inactive, as it is in 



late fall and winter. 

 We have also seen 

 (Fig. 82) that ex- 

 posed tissue may 

 die back during 

 winter ; and this is 

 ;/,, particularly true in 

 '> ,J i j severe and dry cli- 

 mates. There is 

 always a tendency 

 for the cambium 

 and bark to die 

 about the edges of 

 a wound made in late fall or winter, and this 

 sometimes progresses so far that the edge of the 

 bark becomes loose. All this is clearly a disad- 



88. Healing of a wound. 



